Alex sat still as his body changed again, oddly he didn’t feel, or look, dramatically bigger, but he felt a lot sturdier and heavier than he had before the System. Looking around himself he saw his laptop screen had lit up. Pulling it closer he saw it had rebooted, after logging in he had no access to the internet, nothing else seemed relevant. The laptop continued its bootup and the data he had been trying to upload to HistoriAI displayed.
Leaning back again he ran through the last few hours, waking up, watching the material of his tent being torn open then fighting for his life with intermittent breaks then… information overload and… loot rewards. He pulled up his inventory.
19 C-Grade Vicious Terrorspine Skins [Perfect]
7 B-Grade Vicious Terrorspine Skins [Perfect]
1 B-Grade Tyrannical Feverspine Skin [Perfect]
250 Terrorspine Spines
64 Feverspine Spines
24 vials of Feverspine Venom
Class Upgrade Token
Companion Nexus Cube
950 C | 364 B | 0 A | 0 S
“The credit totals look healthy, but for all I know C-Grade Credits were the equivalent of cents in the System. That would be my luck. Now, System, what is a Class Upgrade Token?”
A Class Upgrade Token allows an Adventurer to increase the tier of their class. This can be done at level 20, level 50 and level 100.
“Ok… not overly helpful. What about a Companion Nexus Cube?”
A Companion Nexus Cube allows an Adventurer to create a companion. A compatible AI must be present for the Nexus to bond with.
“System, explain Companion?”
System companions are loyal allies that aid adventurers on their journeys. These companions come in various forms, dictated by the AI that is integrated with the Nexus. They fill useful support roles for Solo Adventurers or Adventurers with Professions. Embrace their companionship and let them enhance your adventures.
“System, closest AI for integration with Companion Nexus Cube?”
HistoriAI
Alex’s jaw dropped.
“System, is Archeology a System Profession?”
Archaeology is a Unique Profession. Unique Professions have been unlocked.
Alex withdrew the Cube from his inventory, smiling as he managed to do it without causing the item to fall to the ground. Holding it up to his face he looked at the item, roughly the size of a Rubix Cube, it was clear and contained a liquid or gas but the heart of the Cube was empty.
“System, integrate HistoriAI with Companion Nexus Cube.”
Integrating.
The Cube lifted from his hand and floated to his laptop, the screen flashed and died, Alex watched as the heart of the Cube filled with a golden light.
Integration Complete
Companion Menu
Select Companion Avatar
Ancient Tome
Ancient Tablet
Ancient Staff
“I’m thinking I’ll look less crazy with a book… System, Ancient Tome Selection.
Integrating
Integration Complete
Select Companion Personality
Professor Ladere, creator of HistoriAI
Multiverse Entity, Archeology Specialist
“System, Professor Ladere Selection.”
Integrating
Integration Complete
Select Two Companion Skills
Nexus Specialist
Map Projection
Multiple Forms
Multiverse Civilisation Knowledge
Profession Tool Fabrication
“No information about the skills, that’s… on brand. System, Nexus Specialist and Multiverse Civilisation Knowledge.”
Integrating
Integration Complete
Companion Nexus Creation Complete
Archaeology chosen as Unique Profession
Alex watched as the Cube flashed with a golden light, and then a floating book appeared.
“System, explain Multiverse.”
The multiverse is a boundless expanse of parallel worlds and dimensions. Each realm offers unique civilisations, landscapes, creatures, challenges and threats. Adventurers with specific skills or professions can travel to different versions of Earth, experiencing diverse environments, meeting civilisations unique to that multiverse, and unravelling the mysteries of the interconnected multiverse.
Looking up Alex saw that the sun was coming up, while he didn’t feel tired his body felt like it was going to crash.
“Professor?”
“Yes, Till?”
Alex smiled, the Professor was the only person who called him Till, hearing her voice and that name was like a shot of normalcy in the middle of all the craziness.
“I need to sleep, can you provide any defence?”
“Till, I’m a book. No, I can’t defend you. I can set up a drib network around this… tent structure and if an entity breaches it, I can wake you.”
“That’s fair and thank you. When I’m up I want to hear what else you can do.”
“While you rest I’ll scan the local area for anything that will help.”
Getting to his feet Alex looked at the floating book and shook his head slowly, then walked towards his air mattress.
“Thanks, Professor, it's good to have you here.”
“Till, I’m a book.”
“I know, Professor.”
----------------------------------------
"Till?"
"Professor?"
"Yes, Till."
"Why are you in my room?"
"Why is a System generated Archaeology Companion powered by an AI created by your former Professor in your damaged tent?"
"I'm awake…"
"Good, you have company."
Alex sprung up from the air mattress and grabbed a working jacket while looking around the tent.
"What kind of company?"
"Three of the Terrorspine variants you fought this morning."
"Far away?"
"3 minutes and 17 seconds at their current speed."
"3 minu… so, I'm going to have company."
"Waking you quickly outweighed the benefits of slowly waking you. 2 minutes and 54 seconds. 53 seconds."
"I get it."
Alex picked up the skillet handle, weighed it in his hand and scowled.
"This isn't going to work."
"May I make a suggestion, Till?"
"Have at it, Professor."
"I took the liberty of inventorying the tools you have on-site for your dig, several would work in this instance. Your lack of prowess with most of them would limit their effectiveness. My suggestion would be the Fire Axe you have, unlike a lot of your other tools it doesn't have a wooden handle, rather it is one piece of metal which will help with durability. While not strictly an archaeology implement, it is sturdier than the other items and your skill level is more proficient for multiple reasons, most importantly, your time in the Department as a Breacher."
"Brilliant. Where is it?"
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
"Extend your right arm, Till."
Alex did as he was told, following instructions from his professor was ingrained in him for the five years he spent at university. His axe popped into existence and he closed his hand around it.
D-Grade Fire Axe (One-Piece Tool Steel)
Weapon Stats:
Damage: High
Attack Speed: Average
Durability: 100%
Weight: Heavy
Bonus: Inflicts both Crushing and Slicing Damage
"Now that's a weapon!"
"1 minute and 7 seconds, Till."
Alex nodded and walked towards the claw-made entrance to his tents.
"Which direction?"
"From your 5 o'clock."
Alex waited till he heard the Terrorspines, then as the first came around the tent he swung up from the right, cleaving the poor creature in half at an angle. As the pieces fell to the sides he spun the axe in his grip and reversed its direction, splitting the second Terrorspine's skull in half. Lifting his right boot he kicked out while twisting the axe, the creature shot backwards, impaling the third and leaving them bleeding on the ground. Alex walked over and slammed the head of the axe down on the piteously gurgling creature's head, killing it instantly.
Alex Till lands Killing Blow on Vicious Terrorspine (Level 9) x 3.
403 experience gained x 3
Level Up
Level: 12
Attributes:
Strength: 42
Constitution: 31
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 7
Charisma: 6
Total - 104
Available Stat Points - 3
“System, allocate 3 points to Strength.
Strength: 45
“Thoughts, professor?”
“On your killing prowess? They’re dead.”
“No, well, yes, thanks. But more on next moves.”
“I’m an Archeology Companion, Till. Archaeology.”
“I need to get to level 20 so I can upgrade my class. I could get behind a roaming dig while culling some creatures. Where would you suggest I go… System, Explain Archaeology.”
Archaeology is a Unique System Profession. It enables Adventurers to explore ancient sites, excavate artefacts, and decipher their historical significance. It involves exploration, excavation, artefact identification, skill progression, and rewards. Experience gained applies to Adventurer level and Profession Level.
“System, display Archaeology Screen.”
Archaeology - Unique Profession
Current Grade - B
Current Level - 2
Current Enhancements - HistoriAI Companion
Current Dig Sites
1 - 0% Historical Significance
“Well, that’s one way to tell me I was wrong about this spot.”
Dig Sites In Range of Adventurer
3
Filtered by Historical Significance
1 - Earth 0 | Incan Settlement: 78%
2 - Earth 0 | Ancient Cemetery: 42%
3 - Earth 48 | Ancient Chapel: 19%
“Professor, explain ‘Historical Significance’.”
“Really? It’s a System generated rating based on the likelihood to find artefacts or something equally relevant to the profession.”
“If I find something, what happens then?”
“I store it, record it and process the find with the System. If it’s exceptionally relevant then I’ll broker a sale to a relevant purchaser.”
“Which skill is that?”
“Nexus Specialist.”
“What about the other skill? What does it do?”
“Multiverse Civilisation Knowledge. Through the System I have access to historical records from across the multiverse. It provides the additional info, like Historical Significance. Once on a dig site, it will provide additional guidance on where to dig.”
“Wow, plot a course to the Incan Settlement, you have the tools right?”
“The Settlement that isn’t here?”
“Yes, professor, thanks for that.”
“Just checking, and yes I have the tools you’ll need.”
“How far away is it?”
“Two days walk… three days with Spine variants.”
“What about my tent?”
“What about it? Ask the System.”
“System, will the… Spine variant continues to attack my tent if I’m not here?”
Initiation Creature Entities will attack only if an Adventurer is present
“Are the Spine Variants still Initiation Creatures? I thought the Initiation was completed.”
Initiation Entities will continue to Spawn until 100 Adventurers unlock the Class Screen
“System, current count of Planetary Frontrunner?”
41
“Shit, I thought more would’ve made it by now. System, time since Initiation?”
Time since Initiation - 22:51:17
“That’s not too bad I guess. System, who was the first Adventurer to reach level 10?”
Planetary Leaderboard unlocked at level 20
“System, number of Adventurers at level 20?”
2
“Wow…”
“Time to go Till, daylight’s wasting.”
“Do you know any of this System info, professor?”
“If it doesn’t relate to the biological professor or archaeology, then no.”
----------------------------------------
Alex Till lands Killing Blow on Vicious Terrorspine (Level 11) x 6.
512 experience gained x 6
"Levelling seems to be slower now professor."
"I wouldn't know. Have you checked your experience bar?
"Experience bar?"
"If it's anything like the Profession Screen and experience, there should be a bar that the experience you get from waving that axe around is filling up."
"Oh…"
Alex wiped his axe head on the chest of one of the Terrorspine's then walked off to the side to sit on a large boulder. Looking around he saw two small bars up in the top left of his vision.
Heath | 100%
Stamina | 83%
"System, display experience."
Display experience on HUD?
"Yes."
Alex fell backwards off his boulder as his vision was filled with too many bars to make sense of.
Alex Till
Progression Experience | 96%
Weapon Experience
Improvised
D-Grade Cast Iron Skillet | Accomplished
D-Grade Cast Iron Skillet Handle | Novice
Heavy
D-Grade Fire Axe (One-Piece Tool Steel) | Novice
Skills Experience
Searing Strike | Accomplished
Nemesis Tracker
Vicious Terrorspine | 69 of 1000
Tyrannical Feverspine | 2 of 1000
Companion Experience
HistoriAI (Archaeology Nexus Companion) | Acquaintance
Then it got a little crazy and listed his pre-System acquaintances. Everyone he'd ever met, their relationship boiled down to a word that described it.
"System, filter experience bars. Display Progression Experience."
Acknowledged
HUD Position Confirmation
Alex righted himself on the boulder and looked at what he now knew was his HUD. Health and Stamina were displayed at the top left when he looked, looking to the top right he saw his body displayed again, this time with no worrying colours. Smack bang in the middle of his vision was a bar that displayed his progression experience.
"System, move the experience bar to the bottom right of the screen."
Acknowledged
Getting back to his feet he looked around himself, looted the corpses and just stood there surrounded by six Spine variants.
"Professor, which direction? Can you project something onto my… HUD?"
"Done."
Alex looked around and a green arrow appeared in the bottom left of his vision, he spun around until it turned green then headed in that direction.
Alex kept walking and fighting for the next two days, gradually drawing closer to the Incan Settlement Dig Site.
"What am I expecting here professor?"
"From my records, it is a very generic settlement or outpost, only made interesting because it shouldn't be here."
"That's what interested me as well, other than a couple of very patchy accounts there is no record of any Incan scouting parties coming here. Very interesting."
"We'll soon see Till."
Alex Till lands Killing Blow on Vicious Terrorspine (Level 13) x 8.
672 experience gained x 8
Alex Till lands Killing Blow on Vicious Terrorspine (Level 15) x 4.
710 experience gained x 4
Alex Till lands Killing Blow on Tyrannical Feverspine (Level 18)
901 experience gained
Level Up
Level Up
Level: 14
Attributes:
Strength: 46
Constitution: 33
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 7
Charisma: 6
Available Stat Points - 6
Alex pushed 4 points into Strength and 2 into Constitution.
Strength: 50
Constitution: 35
"I'd love to know if this is good progress, these Spine variants could either be giving a lot of experience or very little."
"There's no point worrying about it, loot them and keep moving."
"Yes, professor."
"What are your plans when we get there later today?"
"I was hoping you'd throw a laser grid down and then we can get to work."
The Professor didn't respond so he stopped and turned around.
"What?"
"Till, I'm a Nexus Companion guided by the System and an AI purpose-built for archaeology."
"What does that mean?"
"I'll scan the site when we arrive, you can clear out any creatures and by the time you're down getting more blood on you, honestly, you're an absolute mess! By the time you're done, we'll know what is at the site, where it is and the best way to extract it. Then you get the tools out, dig and I catalogue it and we get experience."
"That sounds too easy."
"I didn't design the System, part of me was tempted to not say anything and then watch for a month as you searched the whole site… but I decided it wasn't worth it. You're welcome."
"Thanks… so no laser grid?"
"I'll still do that. It helps both of us. We know where the variants are and I can scan the site faster."
"So I was right."
"Yes Till, You were right. Gold star."
The two continued walking in silence, Alex was consumed by thoughts of the System, archaeology and axe fighting. He was starting to understand the System, at least the tiny portion he was privy to.
"Till, the site is just over this rise. I've started scanning and it's busy."
"Spines?"
"Some, there are other variants, ones we haven't seen yet."
"Thanks, Professor."
Looking down he scanned his axe.
D-Grade Fire Axe (One-Piece Tool Steel)
Weapon Stats:
Damage: High
Attack Speed: Average
Durability: 81%
Weight: Heavy
Bonus: Inflicts both Crushing and Slicing Damage.
Kills - 22
"Almost running at 1% durability for every kill. That works."